O connor barrett



March 24, 1964 o. O'CONNOR BARRETT 3,126,202

ILLUSIONS Filed Aug. 9, 1962 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,126,202 HJLUSEONS Oliver OConnor Barrett, 4205 Washington Road, West Palm Beach, Fla. Filed Aug. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 215,896 3 Claims. (Cl. 272-8) This invention relates to illusions and is concerned more particularly with novel optical illusions, which may be employed for amusement, instruction, decoration, and other purposes.

The optical illusion of the invention comprises a group of solid objects disposed along a line of sight and visible through an aperture with some of the objects concealing parts of others. The objects are of such shapes and are so spaced and oriented relative to one another, that their parts visible through the aperture along the line of sight produce a recognizable image of what appears to be a single thing, but is non-existent.

The objects used in the new illusion are ordinarily abstract in form and they may be aesthetically attractive so that they afford pleasure to observers and may be used as a means of giving instruction in sculpture. Since the objects may be works of art, the illusions may serve as architectural features in the hall and foyers of buildings and in courts and patios. The illusions may also be used as landscape decoration in formal gardens and in fountains and parks. Forms of the new illusion may be employed as playground groups, over which children may climb, and, in such use, the objects may be made hollow and of such size that children may enter them through openings in surfaces not visible through the aperture, and the objects may be provided with handholds and rungs. Still another use of the illusion is for advertising purposes, in which case the composite image, to which the objects contribute, is ordinarily a representation or symbol of, or bears some relation to the product being advertised or its trademark.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a View in perspective of the objects forming two illusions according to the invention; and

FIGS. 2 and 3 are elevational views of the images created by the illusions.

One of the illusions shown in the drawin comprises the blocks it) and 11, which are disposed in spaced relation along a line L1 and may be viewed along the line through an aperture 12. The block 19 presents a front surface 16a to the aperture and the surface has straight vertical side edges b, 19c and a slightly convex top edge 10d. At its lower end, the block is formed with a channel 13 extending parallel to the line L1 and open at the bottom surface of the block, so that the surface llila, appears to include a pair of spaced legs 10c resting on the surface supporting the block. The block is formed with a second channel 14 intersecting the channel 13 at right angles and making it possible to utilize the block in a group forming another illusion not illustrated.

The block 11 has a surface 110 facing the aperture, which has a straight vertical side edge 11b, a slightly convex vertical side edge 11c, and a slightly convex top edge 11d. At its lower end, the block has a channel 15 extending parallel to the line L1 and open downward, so that the surface 11a appears to include legs 11c resting on the supporting surface. On its top, the block has an open channel 16 lying parallel to the surface 11a and a hole 17 extends from the surface 11a into the channel at an angle to the surface.

The aperture 12 is formed in any convenient way and may, for example, be an opening at the desired height through a post. In the illusion shown, the aperture is 3,126,292 Patented Mar. 24, 1964 formed in a block 18, which forms part of the group of objects of an illusion not illustrated.

The blocks 10 and 11 are disposed along the line L1 at a distance from the aperture and with an interval between them and they are oifset laterally in opposite directions in relation to the line, so that the vertical portion of the block 10a at the left of the channel 13 conceals the vertical portion of the vertical block 11 at the right of channel 15. As a result of the shape, orientation, the spacing of the blocks, they combine, when viewed through the aperture, to produce the image 19 of an elephant shown in FIG. 2. The block it appears to be the body of the elephant and the legs lite on the block appear to be its legs. The visible part of block 11 appears to be the elephants head with the leg 11c forming its trunk and the hole 17 its eye. If the block 10 is placed at a slight angle to the line L1, the lower part 16 of the block to the left of the channel 13 and beyond the channel 14 appears as the second foreleg of the elephant. Similarly, the block 11 may be placed at a slight angle to the line L1, so that one wall of the channel 15 is visible and gives the trunk a more realistic appearance. Although the end of the visible leg 116 of the block 11 rests on the same supporting surface as the legs 1% and iii the spacing of the block 11 to the rear of block 19 is such as to make the trunk appear to terminate at a higher level than that of the lower legs lite and 14) when the image 19 is seen through the aperture.

The blocks it) and 11 may be made of any suitable material, and may be carved from stone or wood, made of cast concrete, or fabricated of such materials as fiberglass. The blocks will vary in size depending to some extent on how the illusion is to be used and the blocks may be sufficiently small to be portable or sufficiently large, so that, if hollow, children can enter them.

The block 11 is shown in the drawing as being employed in a second illusion, in which the flat side 11 of the block is visible along a line L2 through an aperture 19. The aperture is formed in a block 20 which is a component of a group of objects forming an illusion not shown. The other objects employed in the second illusion include a block 21 having a channel 22 parallel to the line L2 and open through its bottom end a generally spherical object 23. The blocks 11 and 21 are aligned along the line of sight with the sphere 23 between them and the surface of the sphere facing the aperture is formed with an upper depression 23a simulating a mouth and a lower depression 2312 containing a pair of small rounded projections 23c simulating eyes.

When the blocks 11 and 21 and the sphere 23 are viewed along the line L2 through the aperture 19, they cooperate to form the image 24 of a man standing on his head. In this image, the legs are formed by the portions of the surface 11, lying at opposite sides of the channel 16 and the remainder of the surface 11; forms part of the body. The part of the surface of block 21 above the top of channel 22 forms the remainder of the body and the parts of the surface of the block facing the aperture and lying at opposite sides of the channel 22 form the mans arms which appear to be raised. In the image, the mans head is formed by that part of the sphere 23 which is visible through the channel 22 and, because of the spacing between the block 21 and the sphere 23, the top of the head appears to be at a level different from that of the ends of his arms.

As will be apparent, the new illusion makes possible the creation of an unlimited variety of images and the objects used in the illusion may vary widely in appearance. In a single illusion, only one surface of an object is used and the object may be shaped so that another surface may be employed in another illusion. It is, ac-

cordingly, possible to make a plurality of illusions, each containing two or more objects, by the use of a number of objects equal to less than twice the number of illusions and, in a typical instance, illusions creating 8 images require only 12 objects.

I claim:

1. An optical illusion which comprises a plurality of fixedly positioned elements supported in spaced relation ship at distances from one another and each formed to define an aperture through which a line of sight passes, the lines of sight through the apertures lying at an angle to one another, and a plurality of means for producing images of recognizable objects, each image lying at a distance from a related element and being visible through the aperture in that element, and each such means including a group of components disposed at different distances along a line of sight from the aperture for that line, at least one component being common to at least two groups and having different faces visible when viewed along the lines of sight along which the components of the two groups are disposed.

2. The optical illusion of claim 1, in which the group includes at least one component abstract in form.

3. The optical illusion of claim 1, in which at least one component conceals a portion of a component farther from the aperture along the line of sight.

Schiesari Aug. 17, 1926 Youngblood May 15, 1928 

1. AN OPTICAL ILLUSION WHICH COMPRISES A PLURALITY OF FIXEDLY POSITIONED ELEMENTS SUPPORTED IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP AT DISTANCES FROM ONE ANOTHER AND EACH FORMED TO DEFINE AN APERTURE THROUGH WHICH A LINE OF SIGHT PASSES, THE LINES OF SIGHT THROUGH THE APERTURES LYING AT AN ANGLE TO ONE ANOTHER, AND A PLURALITY OF MEANS FOR PRODUCING IMAGES OF RECOGNIZABLE OBJECTS, EACH IMAGE LYING AT A DISTANCE FROM A RELATED ELEMENT AND BEING VISIBLE THROUGH THE APERTURE IN THAT ELEMENT, AND EACH SUCH MEANS INCLUDING A GROUP OF COMPONENTS DISPOSED AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES ALONG A LINE OF SIGHT FROM THE APERTURE FOR THAT LINE, AT LEAST ONE COMPONENT BEING COMMON TO AT LEAST TWO GROUPS AND HAVING DIFFERENT FACES VISIBLE WHEN VIEWED ALONG THE LINES OF SIGHT ALONG WHICH THE COMPONENTS OF THE TWO GROUPS ARE DISPOSED. 